Pre-AP, PSAT/NMSQT, BlueBook, and More

A Parent's Guide To Understanding High School Teaching Methods

You and I began teaching our children probably even before they were born. I remember well how my late wife played a Mozart symphony or some Gilbert and Sullivan while she was pregnant. She also frequently read aloud. Teaching by example truly is one of the most effective teaching methods.

Teaching by example still has its place in teaching high school examples, but things are a bit more complicated, or should I say, enriched, in 2025.

• As parents of high school students, we often find ourselves puzzled by the teaching methods our teens tell us about.
• Gone are the days when education meant simply lecturing and memorizing facts. That may be true, but I can still conjugate the Latin verbs I learned in 8th Grade. But I digress.

Against that backdrop, let's take a look at how teachers function in today's high schools. I've included quotes from several authoritative sources so you can drill down and find out more about the methods.

Let's ask Perplexity to answer our questions.

RK: How do high school teachers teach these days?

Perplexity: Today's high school teachers employ a wide variety of approaches designed to engage students and prepare them for a complex world.

• Understanding these methods isn't just interesting. It's essential for supporting our teens throughout these critical years.
• When we understand how teachers structure learning experiences, we can better

How To Use AI For Research: A High School Student's Guide

As a high school student in 2025, you're at the perfect moment to embrace AI as a powerful research tool.

• Unlike traditional search engines, such as Google or Bing, AI research assistants such as ChatGPT, MetaAI, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot, and Gemini can understand complex questions and synthesize information.
• They can help you develop ideas in ways that weren't possible just a few years ago.

Canva generated this picture of a student writing a paper on his laptop.

In this article, I will share with you some of the strategies I have learned about using AI tools in my writing over the past two years.

• I will help you learn how to harness the tremendous capabilities of AI tools effectively.
• I'll also address the issue of academic integrity.
• Finally, I would ask any parents and teachers who have read this far to share this article with some young people and discuss some of my strategies with them.

Getting Started with AI Research Tools

The first thing to understand about AI research tools is that they function differently from search engines like Google and Bing, with which you're familiar.

• Instead of providing links to websites, they generate direct answers by analyzing vast amounts of information.
• As a result, you can ask questions, give commands in natural language, and receive comprehensive responses tailored to your needs.
• It's similar to

Social Emotional Learning: Education's Hidden Symphony

As a classical musician and writer, I deeply understand how emotions and social connections shape our learning experiences. Let me share my perspective on Social Emotional Learning, a framework that resonates strongly with my artistic background. To help you understand SEL, I have included quotes from authoritative sources together with links, so that you explore the subject more fully. Here's why Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is as essential to your child's development as learning their ABCs or multiplication tables.

The Daily Impact

Your child might struggle with situations like:

• Getting frustrated when homework becomes challenging
• Having difficulty making friends at school
• Feeling anxious about speaking up in class
• Managing conflicts with siblings

SEL helps children navigate these everyday challenges by teaching them to understand and manage their emotions just as they learn to read or solve math problems. Since a report indicates that too much screen time on smartphones increases children's aggressiveness, SEL is a tool that can mitigate those unhelpful emotions.

The research also suggests that teachers with better social emotional learning (SEL) skills are more likely to have good relationships with students, and those students in turn are more engaged in learning. Source: American Psychological Association

Real Benefits for Your Child

Think of SEL as giving your child an emotional toolkit. Children who participate in SEL programs show remarkable improvements:

• Higher academic scores and test results
• Better classroom behavior and focus
• Stronger friendships and

Disclaimer: I am not an attorney. I offer this information solely to give you an idea of the kind of questions and issues you need to be discussing with professionals such as your attorney and your accountant. Finally, there are about 11,000 private schools that are not members of any private school association. You won't have to reinvent the wheel when you belong to a private school association. Hopefully, my suggestions in this article will encourage you to take advantage of the wealth of knowledge and experience in these associations. ~Rob Kennedy

Chapter 1: Choosing Your School's Legal Structure

Been there. Done that. Yes, I was actually involved in starting a private school. R-E-S-P-E-C-T Academy in Nassau, The Bahamas, was the brainchild of Senator Elliston Rahming. He hired me to be his assistant principal or deputy director as the position was styled. He charged me with organizing the admissions and academic side of the operation in four months so that we could open the school in the fall of 1994.

Starting a school requires one of your earliest decisions to be its legal structure. While you excel at education, this business decision needs professional legal guidance to protect your dream. Think of legal fees as an investment in your school's future. A qualified education law attorney will help you navigate complex regulations and prevent costly mistakes that could threaten your school's survival.

Now, let's look at the two forms of incorporation